River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1887-06-30
lettings by the Way.
Extracts from letters from over the sea-


ST. BEES, Jan. %, 1887.
Rios Crowther, in Pembrokeshire,
Wales, is seven miles from the hiStor.
zeal and renowned Pembroke Castle a
Norman structure of great interest,
and even in its present dilapidated
state magnificent pile. 1t has sus-
tanned repeated sieges and has been
twice burned. We climbed its walls;
we peeped through the ruined turrets
which Cromwell did centuries before;
we entered the room where King
Henry the eight was born; we scanned
the distant views from its ruined tow.
ers. and noticed the magnificent Mil
ford Haven. where for some time the
LevIathian of the briny deep, the
Great Eastern. was anchored. Mil
ford Haven is vast inlet of the sea.
about twenty miles in length from
st. Annie's Head to the confluence OF
the east aud west Cleddy and from one
to three miles in bredth. Ii contains
numerous hays and creeks completely
land locked; free from shoals and
rocks. with excellent anchorage, from
live fathOms upward, and is justly con-
sideTed one of the finest harbOrs in the
world. Its remote situation, however.
impairs its utility and value both for
purposes of commerce and as naval
station. IL is protected on the west
10y the peninsula Of Dale, which ter
inmates in 81. AIMS Head, on which
are two light houses. 1t is strongly
fortified b. powerful batteries. When
ia Pembr1keShire. which is. by the
way, as we often say. known as Little
England beyond Wales" we drove
to where may he seen cTOmlichs and
dTuidicdl stones which seemed TO tell
us these were the places where the
Druids used to offer VOWS, and songs
of supplicatiOn TO their gods. We
heard the sound of the hunters horn,
we saw the hounds, and il time had
permitted no doubt we should have
been tempted to join the merry band
and taken canter over the fields and
along the lanes of ancient Wales
j have been up tile St. Lawrence.
the Mississippi and the Hudson rivers;
| have sighted both sides of the Rock
les. and the AieghaLies; | have seen
the Indians in their wigwams on the
shores of the Hudson Bay; | have
the prairies of Minnesota,
Dakota and Montana, but after all /
like The quiet surroundings of the
Welsh hills, with the spring like
weather that seems almost perpetual.
like the dialect of the people-the
English lOcalisms. which are peculiar.
England. too. is grand old country.
with its castles and its abbeys, and so
many things to attract interest and
instruct.
New Years eve we were awakened
from our peaceful slumbers, by the mer-
ny sound of the bells in the old church
tower, tolling out the old year. ringing
in the new. The sounds proceeding
from the tower of the old church which
has stood for a thousand years were
very impressive, especially SO to us
who had but just emerged from a new
world
After spending a month in this eden
Of Wales we went to Swansea. the
center of the copper and iron smelling
works of Wales. Swansea is "A station
on the Great Western Railway 2l6
miles from London. The great docks
here stand second only to those at the
port of Liverpool were well worth see
ing. We next wandered to Cardiff.
a great shipping town, then to New
Port in the county of, or shire of Mon
mouth, another shipping port. At
Shrewsbury we were comfortably
ported at the George Hotel" IL wilt
be remembered by the young histOr-
ian of River Falls that Edward the
9Th made his confession in the large
abbey at Shrewsbury. At Worcester
on the Severn We also stayed from the
setting of the sun till the following
dawn. This city has fine cathedral.
The manufacture of china was at one
time the leading source of trade but
is now gradually dying out. We Wis
tied other places of interest, and then
wended our way 10 small ancient
town. in the Cumberland coal dist
riot, called St. Bees, we'll known for
its colleges. both commercial and
theological. We are settled here for
the present having taken villa that
has an outlook over the sea, enabling
us on clear days to see the Isle of Man
and the southern coast of Scotland.
We are very pleasantly and comfort
ably settled and shall remain for a
time indefinite. We expect to visit
London sometime during the season,
In travelling through the different
countries of the world | have become
deeply impressed with the freedom.
manners and customs of the land of
the stars and stripes. have had one
week of college life here; think / shall
like it. the same course as at Oxford.
must apologize for not writing you
more frequently. but our time has been
wholly occupied. We will have more
leisure for letter writing now that we
are fully established in our new home.
L. Cory Thomas.